


The Monster In My Bed

by RadioactivePaws



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, Fluff, mates/soulmates, might add the other ships in the tags but theyre all background to bellice so im not sure, might become M after a while, other supernatural creatures live in Forks, story drama/angst, vampires are more monstrous, violence warning for later chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-03 21:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16333847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadioactivePaws/pseuds/RadioactivePaws
Summary: Forks wasn't exactly a place Bella Swan ever wished to stay for an extended period of time. Then she meets Alice Cullen and her family and realizes why Forks has always given her strange vibes.A Bellice rewrite of Twilight where vampires are a little more monstrous, there are scary things living in Forks beyond vampires and shapeshifters, and Bella and Alice don't know what slow burn means.





	1. Revelations

**Author's Note:**

> this is just a tease for this fic, the opening to it all. chapter one should be posted soon!

I never thought much about how I would die. Even in my darkest moments, I never really wanted to meet death, to bring about the end of it all. 

Still, it’s strange to think about how close to the abyss I’ve come. How I flirt with that darkness every day of my life since I moved to Forks. The small town like something out of a horror movie houses so many things that spark nightmares in the human psyche.

Things I never believed could be real are real, I’m dating one of those impossibilities, and they’re more dangerous than you’d ever believe.

No one knows about the reality of dragons until they’re staring down the maw, flames licking their way out to melt skin like wax. 

I know. I’ve seen it, the nightmares made real, and I roar back in defiance each time.

It wasn’t always like this, I’ve grown to be courageous, but I can’t see myself outside of this world of the otherworldly any longer.


	2. Do You Believe In Fate?

Moving to Forks wasn’t exactly my idea of a fairy tale. Spending my last two years of High School in a small town where I didn’t know anyone made it seem even less appealing but I had to go.

With mom wanting to travel with her new husband, I decided to take the plunge. It would be good for her to go with him, it would make her incredibly happy and I was glad to not have to spend two years with her moping about having to stay at home with her teenage daughter. Plus it gave me a break. Charlie wouldn’t want me to do his budgeting or pay his bills, I would be able to be a little more free as strange as that felt.

Yet even with the acceptance of what I’d signed up for, and the knowledge that it would be good for me in the long run, I wasn’t excited about going to Forks. The town always bothered me, giving off a slightly ominous vibe between the constant rain or fog and the thick surrounding forests.

It would be nice for the quiet, though, and I was looking forward to the possible inspiration this place could bring me.

Leaving Arizona, I’d been sweating slightly in a tank top and shorts. Now, as I stepped outside the airport with Charlie, I was shivering inside the thick hoodie I’d pulled on the moment the plane landed.

My wardrobe was about to drastically change, not that I really cared. Layers were a comfort.

The ride home with Charlie wasn’t too bad, mostly a comfortable silence between two quiet people. He knew what moving here meant to me, in the good and bad ways, and he was trying his best to make me feel comfortable from moment one.

“So I got you a present. A welcome gift to get you ready for school tomorrow.” His voice startled me a little and then I caught up to what he said.

“Dad, you didn’t have to get me anything.” I wasn’t the best with getting presents or surprises. They made me feel a little awkward and off balance, even if they ended up being appreciated.

“I wanted to. Besides you said you’d be lookin for a car and I just happened to know of one I could get you before you got here.” That got my attention and he smiled a little. “Well, it’s a truck but I think you’ll like it.”

“You didn’t have to, I saved some money.” The tight discomfort that curled in my belly felt like acid bubbling in my throat before I swallowed it down. “Thank you. I’m sure I’ll love it.”

The rest of the ride was fell back into silence, my eyes tracing the treeline that thickened with each mile we traveled towards town. Everything was so green, almost alien to my eyes. I could already feel the chill of possible danger that slid down my spine, one reaction that I’d grown used to over all the summers I’d spent in Forks. It would fade in time. At least I hoped so.

Charlie’s house looked the same as it always had. He never changed anything other than my room, updating it over the years to fit my needs as I got older. There in the driveway, I caught sight of my gift, an old truck that I immediately fell in love with. I smiled over at Charlie as I saw it, pulling him into a hug when we got out of the car and he understood my unspoken thank you with an awkward cough.

My room was the same as the last time I’d seen it but Charlie had added a computer and phone in there for me. Conditions from Renee so she could contact me easily. Otherwise, everything was the same except for the new comforter he’d put on my bed and the blankets and three flannel jackets he’d put in my closet to keep me warm.

Falling onto the bed, I tried not to think too hard about how the next day would go. My school in Phoenix wasn’t great, I’d never made many friends and usually spent my time in the art room or the choir room alone. With this being such a small town, I wasn’t sure how well I’d be able to keep up my solitude.

I wasn’t sure I even wanted to keep it up that badly. Maybe finding some friends wouldn’t be so bad, as long as they didn’t realize how weird I could be. Or how weird I thought I could be, really. Being a quiet teen who likes to spend their time doing art or reading or playing music made you a weird outcast in my old school. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here.

With a groan at my thoughts, I rolled over and pulled the pillow over my head. Everything smelled like fresh laundry and the soft mix of worn leather and the clean scent of the lake that always filled Charlie’s home. It wasn’t a surprise that he brought the water home with how much time he spent fishing.

The sun was just starting to set by the time I’d unpacked everything. My closet looked foreign, filled with new clothes I’d gathered before the move and a few old things dotted in between. It looked a little more like it was a room that I occupied now with all my books filling the shelves Charlie had put up for me years ago and the guitar sitting in the corner. Soon my keyboard would arrive in the mail to become it’s companion. I set up my box of art supplies and notebooks on the desk next to the computer, nearly overflowing the space by the time it was all set out.

The last touches came with my posters being hung, surrounding me with a comfortable familiarity that made everything seem just a little less scary. I left the window cracked, trying to get used to the cold as best I could as I curled up under the new comforter and one of the extras I’d found in the closet.

Sounds of the forest came through the quiet, insects and animals alerting me to the life surrounding the town while the wind and a light rain let the trees talk, rustling into the rest of the symphony.

I thought I would find it jarring, I always used to as a kid, but now it was a comfort. The absence of cars and loud conversation drifting in and out through the night was soothing, if not a little strange. The darkness was also welcome, the only light outside coming from the spaced out streetlights and the occasional light shining from a neighbors window. Even then, they weren’t too close.

It wasn’t late but I was exhausted so I just lay there in my little nest, hoping to find sleep but my mind just wouldn’t stop worrying. Everything felt right but something still felt wrong. 

No, wrong wasn’t the right word. Something felt unfinished, as if something was missing from the space around me. After the initial unease of the town had started to wear off, I’d been plagued by this strange sensation of a hole in what I had with me. As if I’d forgotten to bring something even though we’d completely cleared my room. I thought it would wear off as well once I unpacked but it was even stronger now that I’d settled in.

As time ticked by I was startled to realize I felt a kind of peaceful acceptance settle into my bones. This place wasn’t so bad for these first few hours so maybe it would all be better here. It was strange to have this revelation so quickly but I didn’t mind, it was better than dealing with the emotional fallout I’d been anticipating. 

Even with this calm wave of realization, I couldn’t help the tears that welled up as I heard Charlie go to bed. No more listening to Renee watch TV loudly into the night or wondering when she’d stop dancing so we could both get some sleep. She was wild and unreliable, Renee had made my childhood short and full of responsibility once I’d realized she was lost without Charlie, but I still loved her. She was my best friend for years, my only friend for years, and I would miss her even if I was looking forward to resting my weary mind. 

I cried quietly for a while, watching the wind through my window until I couldn’t tell raindrop from teardrop. 

Then, in the space of a moment as the clock inched towards midnight, she appeared and changed my entire world.

“Why are you crying?”

The voice startled me so badly I couldn’t even scream, I just jumped in bed and clutched the covers tighter to my chest. Eyes wide, I looked at the form standing across the room from me. She smiled an unnerving grin that should have frightened me but instead, I found myself relaxing just a little. 

“I’m sad.” I answered without thinking and she frowned, moving forward until she was kneeling at the side of my bed, her head tilted as she inspected me. “Who are you? Why are you in my room, or actually, how did you get in my room?”

She laughed and I figured this had to be a dream. No one could produce a sound so melodious, something so beautiful it made my eyes water for an entirely different reason.

“My name is Alice and I’m here because I couldn’t resist you any longer.” Her voice was a purr as she lay her head down near mine on the bed, one of her hands reaching up to ever so softly wipe my tears away. She was cold, her skin soft and unyielding as the chill sent a shiver through me. “I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to meet you, not when I could hear you crying, so I came in through the window.”

Now I knew I had to be dreaming. I’d been watching that window and even though it was more open now, I hadn’t noticed any change in it until she’d said so. 

“What do you mean you couldn't wait? What makes me so special?” If I was going to dream of a beautiful woman who seemed to be something so otherworldly then I was going to get the most out of it. 

“You’re mine.” She said it so casually but with a vicious possessiveness that sent a shiver down my spine that was half pleasure and half fear. I’d never heard someone place such a passionate claim on me before, real or not. “My mate. I shouldn’t be telling you this actually, my family is going to be very upset with me in the morning!” Her tone had switched to an upbeat mischief and I couldn’t help but smile at her.

“Why? What does it all mean?” I was curious. This was a dream unlike anything I’d ever had and I wondered if Forks had something in the water. 

Alice nudged me lightly until I sat up. She crawled onto the bed, looking more like a pleased cat than a person, and settled in next to me. Our shoulders brushed as she moved in close, rubbing her cheek against my neck as her head slotted in there. I could feel the blush covering my cheeks down to my chest and I took comfort in the cold chill her skin brought me. 

“Don’t you feel it? That pull towards me, the weird little flutter in your chest that’s making you so comfortable with me being so near.” One of her hands came up to settle right above my thundering heart and I covered it with my own.

She was right, I could feel something drawing me closer. It was strange, frightening even as the comfort of it all washed over me.

In a sudden moment of clarity, I realized I didn’t feel that empty feeling from before, it no longer felt like something was missing or left behind.

Alice has charged right in and fixed it. I wondered why my mind was fixing my worries in this way, why my dream was so vivid and clear, but I didn’t mind it so much. Not when it felt this good. 

“I do.” She purred at my response, her chest rumbling with the pleased noise. Then she moved again, straddling my thighs so she could rub her cheek against my own. So like a cat I wondered if one had slipped through my window and was effecting how my brain showed me this being. 

“I don’t want to say too much on our first meeting. If you aren’t too frightened tomorrow, maybe I can just tell you it all then. My family won’t like it but they will just have to deal, I don’t want to lie to you.” Her purr had kept steady as she spoke, leaving a cute hitch in her voice. She hugged me close, leaning back down to hide her face in my neck. 

“You promise you won’t lie?” I didn’t like when things were kept from me, lies and rumors having been the root of so many pains at my old school. “Do you promise I’m yours?”

My voice gave me away, the painful longing that I could hear creaking from my throat so easy to detect. I craved this, I’d been touch starved and needy for affection for so long that my mind was conjuring this up to soothe me in this culture shock, I was sure of it. 

“My dear Bella.” She spoke my name like a prayer, drawing it out as she leaned up to look me in the eyes, her hands cradling my jaw as if I were made of glass. I suppose it seemed that way as she mirrored my sorrow with a low whine, her thumbs brushing away new tears I hadn’t even noticed. “You’ll be mine forever, just like I’ll be yours. I don’t like to share and I don’t like to lie, especially not if it’s something that will make you cry like this.” 

Alice purred again, leaning in to rub her cheek against my throat. I felt a light brush of her tongue, a barely there touch that left a tingling sensation along my skin. 

“What?” I didn’t know what to ask, how to move forward with this. She sensed my confusion and giggled, moving away so suddenly I felt as if I’d had whiplash. 

“Leaving my scent, my mark. So they all know you’re mine.” Alice growled a little, a possessive sound that brought back that mix of fear and comfort. She pushed me to lay back down, tucking the blankets around my shoulders. “Now sleep. I need to go fight with my family. I’ll see you in the morning and we can talk more then!”

I smiled at her as that joy had leached into her voice again and then in an instant, with a blink of my eyes, she was gone. 

Sleep came easy then, or continued easy from there, and I woke to the morning fog feeling refreshed even as I shivered at the cool morning air. My window was still open and I hesitated to close it for a moment, memories from the night before coming to me easily.

I’d never had a dream stay with me like this and I was thankful for it, taking comfort in the strange delight I’d found in the curious being that called herself Alice.

Charlie was leaving as I made my way downstairs for breakfast, dressed in jeans and a long sleeve shirt under one of those flannels he’d left me. I hadn’t had to wear clothes like these in a while and the boots I slid on to finish the look made it all feel like armor for the first day.

“Hey, Bells, before I go.” Charlie peeked back in the front door, tapping the small hook on the wall where he’d place my keys. “These are here for you and please be careful. I love this town and I’m proud to protect the people in it but weird stuff likes to happen here. I think it’s the woods, something about the calm makes people a little crazy.” He grinned at me as if it were a joke but I could see the worry in his eyes. 

“I’ll be fine, dad. If anything weird happens, I’ll call you so you can explain it to me.” I gave him a smile too and he left with his shoulders looking less tense, as if he’d been carrying this little talk with him all morning.

I ate slowly as he drove away, contemplating all the things he could mean and what it could mean regarding my strange night. Maybe Forks was influencing me more than I anticipated already. As I thought, my hand went to my neck, rubbing the line across my throat where Alice had laid claim. It no longer tingled but I could still feel that light swipe of her tongue, how I’d immediately leaned into the touch in my dream.

Shaking myself free from it all, I went to my truck and started down the slow road to the possible doom of my new school. A strange warmth hit my chest the closer I got, like an invisible hand trying to drag me to the parking lot even faster.

It didn’t make any sense until I pulled into my spot and I saw the face from my dream walking across the lot towards me. I froze, staring at her blatantly but unable to believe my eyes. She couldn’t be real, not that face that I could see so much more clearly now and not that smile that caused such a clashing reaction in me. Once more my hand flew to my neck and I saw her smile widen as she noticed. I opened the door and stumbled out of my truck, clumsy on my feet as I couldn’t stop watching her. 

Then she was next to me, steadying me with a hand on my back so I wouldn’t fall as my knees trembled under my own weight.

“Good morning, Bella.” Her voice was the same as I remembered, cheerful, and her eyes looked over me with an affectionate excitement that left a strange lump in my throat. When I didn’t answer immediately, she looked down and shifted on her feet, the motion looking completely fluid but expressing obvious nerves. “I’m sorry if I frightened you last night, I didn’t mean to, I just couldn’t wait until today.”

“Alice.” I said her name when I felt her start to pull away and she froze, bright golden eyes locking onto mine. “I’m just confused. A little scared, I have to admit,” She looked down again at that, frowning and the expression made my heart hurt suddenly. “But if you still promise to explain it, I’m willing to work past it so we can get to know each other.”

I watched her consider this, as if she were trying to work out if I was being completely truthful with her. Then, slowly, she smiled wide and I saw the flash of her teeth. There was something strange about them, something that caused a shiver to run through me. Especially when I caught the very faint start of a greyish pink line at each side of her mouth with that grin. I wondered what this was, what this meant, and I hoped she really was planning on explaining everything to me.

“Let me show you to the office to get your things!” Alice’s excitement had returned swiftly when she realized I wasn’t going to run away. I should have, none of this made sense and none of it was normal but I couldn’t find it within me to truly be afraid of her. Even more than that, I couldn’t bear to think of being away from her now that I knew she was real.

As she dragged me into the building, I caught sight of a few students watching us with sharp eyes. Their skin, their eyes, their presence all matched that otherworldly aura that flowed from Alice and I quickly realized these people were the family she’d mentioned the night before. The way they watched me, two of them glaring at me so intensely I thought I might catch fire right there and then, told me that fight she mentioned probably hadn’t gone too well.

“Don’t mind them.” Alice’s light voice caught my attention and I watched where she was leading me so I wouldn’t get so lost in the halls. “They’ll get over it soon, I already know. You’ll like them when they’re being less angry!”

She was so certain, so decided that I just went with it and put the harsh glares from her siblings in the back of my mind.

“Good morning!” The sudden intrusion into the office left the secretary jumping in her seat but soon she smiled at us both, looking strangely at where Alice had a hold of my hand. “This is Bella Swan, she’s the new student, I want to see if you can match our schedules so I can show her around more easily.”

I watched as Alice’s words sunk in and the woman behind the desk blinked rapidly. To be honest, I was surprised at the assertion as well, I hadn’t expected her to basically demand to be able to be with me all day. It was even stranger to me that I found I really didn’t mind.

“Well, Miss Cullen, I’ll need to see if either of your schedules match up already. Is this what you want as well, Miss Swan?” She was so formal it felt strange but I noticed the slight trepidation in her voice. As if she were frightened for me, or of Alice, and she was trying to make sure I wasn’t being held hostage.

“Yes. It would be nice to have someone I know in my classes already.” Alice’s hand squeezed mine as I answered and I caught sight of that wide grin once more, her eyes dancing with joy that I’d gone along with what she’d asked for.

Maybe I should have said no. Maybe it would have been smarter to try to distance myself from this strange little creature but I really couldn’t find it in myself to want that. I was worried, a little frightened by my reactions to her, but a very large part of me also didn’t seem to care about the negatives. 

I’d just have to wait and see how she explained it all to me later. That will help me decide if I’m crazy or not. Or at least I hope so because even then, I had the feeling that I wouldn’t leave her alone either way.

“Well alright.” Her nervous gaze didn’t leave, every so often flickering between our faces like she thought she would catch me begging her for saving with my eyes. “It seems you have most classes together already. Miss Swan it’s up to you what you want to switch to match up with Miss Cullen.”

And just like that, I’d fixed my schedule so Alice would be with me the entire day. Every single day until the end of the year. 

“Did you do something to her? That seemed way too easy.” Alice’s bright giggle caused my own laughter in return, her hand still gripping mine as she led me down to our first class. We’d already be late thanks to the office pit stop.

“No, I didn’t do anything. I’m just good at getting what I want.” She winked at me and then slowed right before we got to the classroom. “But please don’t think I’m trying to influence you. I don’t want you to be frightened of me and still be around me.”

She was so afraid of scaring me off that I almost felt weird at having the same fears towards her. I wasn’t known for being able to keep friends. Add in the fact that I had zero idea of what Alice wanted to be to me and I was just as afloat in a sea of worry as she was.

“I’m not afraid of you.” I found that I truly wasn’t, though I really should have been. “We can talk about it after school but for now, let’s just get through the day.”

Her smile softened a bit, those faint lines at the edges of her lips finally fading away. I’d already gotten used to seeing them so it was a slight shock to see them disappear so easily.

As we walked into the room, I was suddenly very aware that she still hadn’t let go of my hand. Every person looked to us, curiosity at the new girl and something akin to blatant awe as they looked at who was leading me in each gaze I caught. I felt my cheeks heat and Alice squeezed my hand, turning her head to glare at the class until the staring lightened slightly.

We sat by the window, Alice making the guy who would have been sitting next to her move to the other free seat. I gave him an apologetic smile for her pushy behavior but he didn’t respond beyond giving me a slight nod.

“What’s up with them?” My voice was such a low whisper I wasn’t sure if Alice would even hear me but she did, shrugging a little as she leaned close to whisper right into my ear.

“My family and I tend to keep to ourselves and you’re the new girl, they’re all probably wondering just how I’ve already stolen you away.” Alice glanced up to the front and then back to me, nudging my shoulder before she went silent. I got the idea as I turned my attention back to the teacher as well, trying not to focus on how Alice left her hand in mine the rest of the class.

By the time lunch rolled around, we were the talk of the entire school. I’d met a few people, those whose excitement at a new student pushed past their uneasiness at how Alice hung around me. I was pleasantly surprised at how nice everyone was being, at how easy this day was going when it came to being the new kid.

Well, except for the rest of the Cullen siblings.

Anytime I spotted them, they either ignored me completely or shot me looks so full of uneasy rage that I would duck out of the way as soon as I could. 

“So what exactly did you do to piss the Cullens off anyway?” The question caught me off guard and I turned to the girl behind me in line for food.

“What do you mean?” Her name was Jessica, I remembered quickly. The girl with her was Angela, they’d been in the group who welcomed me in the hallin between classes. 

“Well Alice likes you, obviously. She’s sweet but I've never seen her be so close to anyone outside of her siblings.” Jessica huffed a little and I wondered just what exactly they’d done to offend her so much. “But the others just keep glaring at you, it’s weird. They might be kinda freaky but they’ve never been outright rude.”

“They’re just mad I’m making friends.” Alice’s voice saved me from having to try to explain away something I didn't even fully understand. Her sudden appearance had the others flinching away for a brief moment. “Anyway, Bella, do you mind if I steal you?”

“Sure.” I liked the others, these nice new people who I was hoping would be my friends, but I felt such a pull to Alice I don’t think I could ever turn her down. 

She grinned that unnerving yet comforting grin and tugged me out of the line, her hand sliding into mine so easily once more as she led me outside of the school.

“Where are we going?” I was confused when she led me past the parking lot but I didn’t move to stop her.

“There’s a coffee shop right there.” She pointed just down the street across from the school. Sure enough, within quick walking distance was a tiny cafe. “I figured you wouldn’t mind avoiding the cafeteria food so that we could at least have the start of our talk.”

Well she wasn’t wrong and I did want to start this conversation, waiting through the last half of the day with zero information would be torture. I ordered what I wanted and tried to stop her from paying, especially when I noticed she didn’t get anything, but she just ignored my protests.

I glared at her a little as she led us to a secluded table in the back but she just stuck her tongue out at me in response.

“Alright. So I’m confused and scared and, honestly, completely lost about all of this.” All her confidence slipped away and I was faced with a nervous Alice who looked so fragile suddenly I didn’t know what to do. 

“I am sorry, I didn’t mean to be so forward and intrusive in your life so quick.” Her voice was drenched in a sadness that just begged for my forgiveness and I felt my heart clench painfully in my chest.

“Ok, look, how about you just explain things to me as we go and I’ll try not to dwell on the very strange beginnings of it all.” That brought a hopeful glint to her eyes and I immediately felt myself relax. “So first question, what did you mean when you said you couldn’t stay away?”

“Hmm, that answer is tied in directly with the information I can’t really give in such an open space.” She bit her lip as she thought and I was struck with how strange they looked once more. “Well, the easiest way to explain it without going into specifics just yet is that I want to date you.” Her nose scrunched up like that wasn’t quite right, that it wasn’t quite enough. “Or, I suppose, I’m fated to date you.”

“Fated to date me?” I was a little breathless. Soulmates and love at first sight were things I’d always hoped were real, just something about having the absolute that you would find someone perfect for you was so healing, but I never thought I’d hear it put in such a strange way.

“That doesn’t feel like it’s a strong enough way to explain my feelings but in human terms, yes.” That caught my attention. In human terms. She was so otherworldly, so strange that I thought of her as something supernatural but I didn’t think it would be confirmed for me so flippantly. “Though, that is an explanation for later.”

“Right.” My food arrived as I thought of my next question and Alice watched the waitress so intently when she came near me, I knew exactly what to talk about. “Why do you look at people like that? When they’re close to me, I mean. You look like you’re ready to fight anyone who might even look at me wrong.”

“Oh, I’m sorry if it bothers you.” Her smile turned sheepish as her hands fidgeted together on the table. I reached forward to slide my hand into hers once more and watched how the simple touch relaxed her so entirely. “It’s part of the dating thing. I can be kind of possessive and incredibly protective. I don’t want to control you or anything, I really can’t help my instincts and it’s going to take me a bit to get used to this. It’s new to me too.”

“I don’t mind it much.” She looked up at me a little strangely and I laughed. “I mean, I’m glad you’re not going to go crazy with it and I’m sure we’ll have to work on the possessive thing if it becomes too intense, but I’ve never had someone want me in that way. It feels nice to be wanted and I like that you want to be around me so much.”

“You made me promise.” Alice’s voice went quiet, her eyes soft and understanding suddenly. It was as if she’d just figured out a puzzle. “Last night when I said those things, you made me promise that you were mine.” Her hand squeezed mine, lifting it to kiss my knuckles in a way that made me nearly choke on my coffee. “That is one things I can assure you of right now. As long as you want me, I’ll be yours. I don’t like being away from you, even for short periods of time, so unless you send me away, I will probably start to annoy you with how much I’ll be near you.”

She grinned at me then and I could still see that nervous fear in her eyes, like she was just waiting for this to become too real. This wonderful creature was waiting for me to run away screaming and I didn’t know how to erase that look from her face.

“I should be afraid. This is all so strange and fast but I’m not scared of you, Alice. Everything else? Oh yea. The possibility of you leaving or of this not being real or really anything that could go wrong, that frightens me. Not you, though.” I squeezed her hand again and finished my lunch in silence. We had so much more to talk through, I had so many questions I wanted to ask but nothing came to mind in the peace of that little cafe.

Not when Alice was watching me with such open affection, joy practically radiating from her as she waited for me to be ready to head back to class. The walk back to school was filled with silence as I watched Alice from the corner of my eye and realized that once more, she refused to let go of my hand.

After struggling through gym, Alice had come to my rescue more than once much to the annoyance of the coach, we meandered to the art room and my day brightened. Our classes ended with Art and then a free period we could spend in that room. Suddenly, I was incredibly thankful I’d matched my schedule to Alice’s for this.

As we settled into a table by the window, I set out my current sketchbook and pencils. The moment I opened the book, I had Alice’s undivided attention.

“You draw?” She tilted her head slightly, watching as I flipped slowly to a blank page. “Can I see?”

“Oh. I’m not that great.” I blushed, the heat intensifying slightly when she snuggled into my side to watch me draw. “I’ll let you look through my sketchbooks sometime, though. If you want to.”

Her immediate response was to nod excitedly before she settled back against me. I decided to draw her eyes, sketching with a charcoal pencil to capture the dark intensity I remembered from the night before. After a while I felt her move just a little and heard what sounded like a muffled purr, her cheek rubbed against my shoulder almost unconsciously as her eyes refused to move from where my hands smudged the shadows across the page.

“You’re amazing.” Alice’s voice was so light but it held that little hitch from the purr she couldn’t seem to control. I flushed even darker and she just kept close, spending the entire block of time watching me sketch random things until the room emptied except for a few students to show that we were in our free period. We had the entire side of the room to ourselves, I realized, and quietly put away my things.

Alice grumbled for a moment, watching my sketchbook disappear back into my bag with a small pout.

“I want to talk now.” My voice brought her out of her playful wallowing and that nervous fear slipped back into her eyes. “Do you want to start here or should we go? I think we could sneak out early today since it’s a free class.”

“We should go, I don’t want to chance someone hearing and making my family more upset with me than they already are.” She sighed and stood, waiting for me to gather my things before she led me quietly back outside. By the time we reached my truck in the lot, Alice was fidgeting with her hands once again. “Where do you want to go?”

“Let’s go back to my place. We can go for a walk on the trail behind the house.” She nodded, fully committing to the idea of letting me choose how this goes down. “Do you have a car here or do you just want to come with me?”

She answered by hopping into my truck and I had to chuckle as I heard that purr once more when I got in as well. Her eyes were closed, her chest moving in exaggerated motions as she took deep breaths. I wondered what exactly she was doing for a moment but then I realized that she was breathing me in from the space when she leaned over a little closer to me.

“We all usually just drive together so I’ll ride with you. They’ll know to just go home without me.” Alice took another deep breath and then released with a deep shudder, moving towards the window so there was a slight distance between us as I drove home.

The walk into the woods was nerve wracking. Alice was silent and distant, though she kept a steadying hand on my back until we reached a small clearing between some trees about ten minutes later. It wasn’t very large but it was quiet and private, I immediately liked it.

I sat on a patch of dry grass, leaning against a fallen tree as I watched Alice pace in front of me. She kept worrying her lip between her teeth and that first real observation of her at school hit me once again.

“Alice.” She stopped immediately, frozen where she stood except for the slight turn of her head so she could look towards me. “Just explain it. I’m sure it’s all connected, all these questions I have, so please just blurt out whatever you need to say and then we can go from there.”

“I’m a vampire.” Well. I did tell her to just blurt it out. She looked startled, like she hadn’t meant to just say it like that. When it set in that she had said it, Alice slumped to the ground like dead weight, sitting about a foot or two in front of me with a dazed look in her eyes.

For a moment, I had to bite back a hysterical giggle. How could I believe such a strange statement but even worse, how could I not. 

Alice was cold, perpetually, and her skin felt dense and tough under the initial softness. Her eyes had been so inky black last night and now they were such a bright gold. Her teeth, oh how this explained those unnerving glimpses of her teeth. Yet even so, I felt like I needed more, felt like I needed to see beyond just this information to really believe what was about to turn my entire world view upside down.

“Vampire.” When I spoke the word, Alice broke from her daze a little, carefully peeking out at me from her lashes. “Show me.” She looked confused, her brow furrowing until I gave a little more. “I want to believe you, since you said you’d never lie and I have to admit I believe you aren’t a normal human being, but I need to see something. Anything, really, but I need to see.”

Comprehension dawned in her eyes and she took a breath. I watched as she carefully crawled closer to me, sitting so our knees brushed.

“Do you promise not to run screaming?” Ah, so she was still terrified I would take off even though I’d stuck around this long. Nodding in answer, I gently reached forward to brush my hand through her messy hair. She purred in response, staying completely still until I pulled away again. “I can show you two things. My mouth and what happens when I go into the sun, why we live in this type of town specifically.”

Then, without any real preamble, Alice let her mouth drop open and I saw what it was like to look down the jaws of death.

Rows of teeth, not unlike a shark, set inside her mouth. The front ones were flat, giving off the appearance of a normal human smile, but the slight tilt to them showed the razor tips once you got this close. Her canines were larger than normal and they started the chain of pointed teeth that ran to the back of her jaw. 

In the blink of an eye, the nightmare expanded. Those little greyish pink lines at the edge of her mouth split and expanded, allowing her to pop her jaw down like a snake. The rip went from each corner of her lips to just under her ear when she finally stopped it. 

Drool slid between each tooth, accentuating the monster before me and I nearly screamed, my throat constricting in absolute fear. Then I saw her eyes, clenched tightly shut with such force that her body trembled. Even with her mouth opened like a demon ready to swallow me whole, I felt that ache return to my chest.

She sat there another moment before she pulled it back in and I watched as that little line vanished from her skin until she looked so much more human. Now that I knew it was there, however, I knew I would always see just where that hidden little trick resided upon her cheeks.

“I’m sorry.” Alice apologized immediately but I wasn’t sure what it was really for. I’d asked her to show me and so she had. “If you want to run, I understand. I won’t keep you from leaving, just promise not to tell.”

There was so much dread in her voice, such a deep sorrowful fear that I nearly burst into tears. I should run, I should leave and never speak to her again. This was terror incarnate, something built to kill me, yet all I could feel was a soft affection and the need to pull her in so I could wash all her sadness away.

“What happens in the sun?” There was a crinkle of anxiety in my voice I couldn’t contain and I saw Alice flinch at the noise but she seemed to relax slightly when I didn’t flee immediately.

“My skin shimmers like when light hits shattered glass and gets a little more translucent, it removes the illusion of humanity. You can see my veins as they pump too, they’re black in the sunlight, but I don’t have blood, not really.” She sighed, looking up at the trees but there wasn’t a break in the clouds for her to show me any more today. “I’ll show you another time, if you want me to.”

The creature before me was so ready for me to run. Her shoulders had slumped forward, eyes glassy and dazed like she would cry any second, and her hands gripped into the soil as if to show she wasn’t going to try to catch me.

I couldn’t stand to see her so broken, so lost.

“I’d like that.” The anxiety was gone as I’d decided what to do. I pushed the fear and trepidation back, pulled myself through all the doubts and the instincts to flee immediately, so that I could view her as I wanted to. So that I could try to get that smile back on her face.

Weird was something I was always pretty good with. Strange things happened in the city all the time and having spent most of my childhood trying to be a mini adult, I saw and heard so many horrible things while out shopping for groceries.

Alice was dangerous but so were so many people out there. She had the ability to kill me and yet she was afraid of me being the one to hurt her. So instead of dwelling, I just accepted it. This girl wasn’t human and I so very much wanted her to stay with me.

“What?” She sounded so mystified, so beyond it all that I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re not going to leave?”

“No. This will take a little while to adjust to, I’m sure, but I don’t want to go. If you were going to hurt me, you would have done it last night when I thought it was a dream.” She smiled a little and I took a deep breath. “I do need to know something else, though, before we discuss anything else. You called me your mate, said we were fated to date in human terms. What does that mean?”

That worry slid back into Alice’s eyes and I quickly reached out to squeeze her knee in reassurance. The smile reached her eyes once more and I watched as she settled herself into telling me everything I wanted.

“Vampires have this instinctual thing where they have a mate. It’s to make sure we always have some sort of coven since a singular nomad vampire is a very volatile and dangerous to other vampires. Having a mate means there’s an intense impulse to keep our secrets, to make sure hunting doesn’t become too blatant so we get discovered, because of how protective vampires get over mates.” She chuckled a little at my wide eyes, it had just slammed into me that she was revealing all of this so that I could choose. That it was up to me if I stayed with her or not since she already had her coven, her family. She wanted to make sure she didn’t force me to be with her in any way. 

“But why me?” I didn’t understand it. Why would her mate be a weird outcast of a human girl.

“It’s fate.” Alice’s eyes were so full of affection I felt tears spring to my eyes. “Everything about you calls to me. Your scent, the way you talk, even the tempo of your heartbeat. I’m drawn to you so totally and it’s taken everything in my to curb my instincts to be almost overbearingly protective of you today.”

“So you’re leaving this to me?” Her smile faltered and she ducked her head. Like someone waiting to be sentenced to the chopping block, she was giving me all the power here. “I choose if I believe it and if I want this.”

“Yes.” I watched as she flexed her hands against the ground once more, gripping deeper just in case I did decide to leave. “I’d do anything to keep you but I don’t want to be controlled by that animal side of me. We don’t even eat people, just because we’re beasts doesn’t mean we have to be monsters. My family and I hunt animals to feed so that we don’t have to be slaves to our instincts.”

That was startling. Not because of what they eat but because I realized I wouldn’t have cared if they did eat humans. I was prepared to throw myself all in for this girl, even if it meant living with such a darkness. There was a relief to know that she didn’t want to be such a danger.

“Alice, you have to know that I feel it too.” I ducked my head down a little so I could catch her eyes and I gave her a little smile. “I think that even if you had scared me away today, I wouldn’t be able to deny how you make me feel.”

“Does that mean you’ll stay?” She tilted her head slightly, curious and unknowing of what I was trying to say. “You want to give me a chance?”

“Yes, I do. I think it’s going to take me a little while to get used to everything, and that I’m a little insane for being fine with it all, but I don’t want to give any of this up.” My heart was thundering in my chest. I was giving myself over to something that shouldn’t be real and trusting that she wouldn’t let me die while in her hands. What should have been driving me to run away screaming was, instead, making me feel incredibly comforted and safe. “I’ve never been very good at being around people and keeping friends around. Living in Arizona was incredibly lonely for me, for a lot of reasons, and I feel so much more comfortable and more like I can just be me around you. If I’m going to accept crazy things in my life, I may as well take the good things and be happy. I think you could make me very happy and will help me to not be alone.”

She squealed happily, jumping up so quickly I felt the brush of wind around her, and clapped while rocking on her toes. I just watched her, feeling that warm joy spread through my once again at how bright this little pixie of a vampire was.

“Can I tell you another secret? Why I was so nervous?” Alice danced in front of me, almost like she was unable to contain her energy now that she didn’t have to be so afraid. I nodded for her to continue and, in a show of her speed, she darted into the tree branches above me. “I have visions. If you want to know the future, I’m your girl. But they’re not perfect, there are holes if decisions haven’t been made so I have to look down each road presented to me.”

“Oh.” Realization dawned on me and I waved her over to me, waiting until she was standing right in front of me once more. “Is that why you kept zoning out in class? Why you kept touching me and then pulling away quickly after a moment? Because you were having visions?”

“Yes.” She looked a little nervous, embarrassed, as she shifted on her feet and I gave her an encouraging smile so she would tell me what was on her mind. “Bella, I need you to know, today was me holding back.” 

“Wait. You mean the amount of touching and keeping close to me was you restraining yourself?” After all the things she’d just confessed to me, this came off as simple and adorable and it was just what I needed.

“Yes. I told you, we get very protective and possessive with our mates. I can see the future but I can’t see certainties until decisions are made. While I had decided to tell you today, I had no idea what you would decide after you knew so I tried not to get myself too close because,” She paused, a flash of pain crossing her eyes and the expression was so stark I reached forward to grab her hands for comfort. “I kept seeing what happened if you decided this was crazy. If you chose to leave, chose to follow your fear, then you would just be gone. I couldn’t back out, I needed you to know, but I was just afraid of letting you go after getting to close. I guess I wasn’t very good at keeping any distance.”

I had to laugh at that, shaking me head as she shrugged. Tugging her hands lightly, she gave me the power and let me pull her until she was practically on my lap.

“Does this mean you’re even more affectionate and touchy than I’ve been led to believe?” Alice watched me curiously as she nodded, smiling softly at my insistence that she stay so she was touching me. “Good. I like having you close.”

She read between the lines easily. All day she’d felt how I relaxed into each touch, how I leaned into her and always let her hold my hand as long as she liked. I was a little touch starved and Alice was fully prepared to fix that.

“What else do you want to know?” She settled more comfortably on my lap and I immediately leaned in to tuck my head against her neck, grinning when she trilled a light laugh. Her hands went to my hair and I slumped against her touch, taking in the purr that started to rumble from her chest. 

“Everything.” I wanted it all, I needed to know what I was getting myself into.

“Alright but how about we put it off for the day, hm?” She must have heard the exhaustion in my voice, the slight strain because I was hitting the wall. This was a lot to process, a little much for me to realize on my first full day in Forks.

“Will you stay for a while?” I didn’t want to leave our little sanctuary and she seemed to have the same idea.

“I’ll stay as long as you want me here.” Alice lay back, pulling me with her until we were curled up on the grass more comfortably, her arms wrapped protectively around me.

I was in a field with a vampire in a town that I’d always been a little afraid of and, yet, I’d never felt more relaxed in my life. This was insane, it couldn’t be real, and all I could do was sink deeper into Alice’s arms.


	3. The Life

Being with a vampire was turning out to be strange in ways I hadn’t anticipated.

Her possessive nature was something we would both work through, making sure she didn’t go too far. I had anticipated hand holding, walking with our arms looped and other things where Alice would keep her hands on me somehow all through the day.

What I didn’t count on was the licking thing.

The morning after our first long talk, I woke up from the sound of Alice clamoring into my room from the window. She wasn’t quiet about it so she wouldn’t scare me and when she realized I was awake, she immediately curled up on the bed with me to soak in my warmth.

I was comfortable, still sleepy, so I was content to lay with her like that until I absolutely had to get up. Then, out of the blue, I felt that strange cool wet sensation I remembered from the first night.

“Alice.” She stopped moving when I said her name and I peeked down at her where her head was nuzzled against my shoulder. “Are you licking my neck?”

“Yep.” Her answer was unabashed as she did it again and while I liked that she wasn’t going to hold herself back from me now that she knew I wouldn’t run away, I was a little frustrated at her flippant response. “Oh. You want an explanation.” At least she picked up on some of my expressions easily. “Vampires usually bite their mates, it scars and always holds their scent so others know to stay away. You’re human! I can’t bite you, yet, so I have to do what I can! Our venom works as a scent marker, remember, so I’m leaving mine on your skin. It’ll tingle a little, might be uncomfortable for a few minutes, but once it dries you won’t even notice!”

Well that sent my head spinning a little. Alice had explained the venom last night, about how it had replaced all of her body fluids after she was changed but that it wouldn’t change a person unless it was injected directly into the bloodstream from the fangs. She was very direct about making sure I knew that venom wouldn’t harm me beyond an upset stomach if ingested and wasn’t toxic against my skin. Now I knew why she was so specific about that.

So began my second full day in Forks. With my new vampire mate, something I was still trying to wrap my head around, licking my neck while I was still half asleep. 

She stopped after another few moments, purring so deeply I worried my entire bed might shake, and leaned up to finally actually look at me. That beaming grin was back, those nightmare lines showing just a little and I found myself finding them cute instead of scary.

Something was obviously wrong with my head.

“Come on! Up, up, up!” Alice jumped off the bed as she spoke, tugging my hand so I would finally wiggle out from beneath my pile of blankets. “We have to get to school on time so my family doesn’t get the idea that I’ve killed you!”

That sentence was said with such exuberance I almost missed the actual words. When I did, however, I nearly choked on my tongue as I tripped over my feet.

“What?” I watched as she just shrugged, skipping to my closet so she could find something to throw at me. “Why would they think you killed me?”

“They’re not as trusting in my restraint as you are.” She said it with such aggravation that I could see how much that bothered her. “I mean, yeah you smell delicious but we’ve been going to school for years now and I haven’t messed up at all! Besides, you’re my mate, I could never hurt you but they refuse to listen to me. When I told them I would be picking you up this morning, Edward had the audacity to ask if that was a good idea since I spent the evening with you, like I was pushing my limits. I’m doing just fine but they won’t see that!”

Alice was pouting now as she just plopped down on the floor where she was. Apparently, the talks she’d had with her family hadn’t gone as well as our talks. I moved to stand next to her, threading my fingers through her hair and gently massaging her head until I felt her relax, that rumbled purr of hers quickly filling the room.

“I think you’re doing wonderfully. So far you’ve been restraining yourself quite a bit, not counting the impulsive first meeting,” At that reminder she looked up at me with a sheepish grin but her eyes held no regret. “I appreciate it. However, I like that you’ve started to let loose a little now. I want to see how you are when you don’t have to hide your quirks from the world.”

In the blink of an eye, Alice was standing next to me with my hand held between her own. The speed made me dizzy for a moment but I couldn’t help the smile at how easily she accepted my insistence that she didn’t hide anything from me.

“Good. That makes things much more simple for me. Though there are some things I shouldn’t expose you to, like hunting, but otherwise it will be fun to show you how vampires act. Or well, at least how we act. I’ve really only spent a lot of time with my family so other vampires might have different quirks, as you called them.” She rifled through my clothes once more as she spoke, eventually handing me a pair of dark jeans that were fashionably roughed up and a zip up hoodie with a floral design. “I should take you shopping. It’s fun and then I can dress you up!”

“Ugh, Alice, I’m not the biggest fan of clothes shopping.” She huffed, pulling that pout out once more. I sighed, deeply, and just took the outfit she’d chosen from her hands. “Fine but you can’t spend a ton of money on me.”

She squealed, clapping her hands before she zoomed to my window once more. With a wink, she dropped down and out of sight. Chuckling at her antics, I quickly got ready for the day, slipping on a tank top as well so Alice couldn’t pull any tricks on me through the day. I didn’t think she would but, then again, she was going to be a little more blatant with her intentions towards me at school today.

By the time I made it downstairs, Alice was already charming Charlie on his way out the door. He was smiling at her, nodding along to whatever it was she was rambling on about, and I wasn’t surprised at all. Of course she would want him to like her and of course she would so easily get him wrapped around her finger.

“Hey dad.” He turned to greet me, giving my that look that clearly said he approved of how quickly I’d made friends. Oh, if he only knew the truth.

“Mornin’, Bells. Alice here showed up to give you a ride to school.” She peeked around him to give me that grin of hers as she walked a little more inside. “I have to get to the station. I’ll see you tonight. Alice, say hey to your dad for me.” 

He left before I could ask him about that and the second the door closed behind him, I had an armful of Alice as she hugged me around the waist.

“Well hello again.” I reached my hand up to pet her hair again, giggling when it brought the same results as before. “Getting on my dad’s good side already huh?”

“Mhm.” She barely made a sound, burrowing her head into my chest. After a minute, she pulled back and growled playfully as she tugged at the strap of my tank top. “You added a layer to the outfit, naughty Bella.”

“See that’s all you have to say for me to know you were up to some kind of mischief with me only wearing a zip up hoodie as a top.” I tapped Alice’s temple so she would look up at me and she just shrugged with a smile, eyes glittering.

“Nothing bad. Oh well, I still like the look.” She winked and leaned up on her toes to kiss my cheek, nuzzling there a moment before she pulled back. “Come on, we need to go or we’ll be late!”

I followed her out the door and blinked at the car sitting in front of the house. It was the same one I’d seen in the parking lot before and I wondered if Alice had stolen their car for the day.

“Uh, Alice, what did your siblings drive if you have this car?” She waited for me to get settled in the passenger seat before she zoomed into her side, immediately taking my hand as she did.

“Oh we have multiple cars. Emmett and Rosalie are working on fixing mine up right now because Emmett accidentally dented the whole drivers side. So for today, I took this car and the others are using the jeep.” As she shrugged easily, it hit me that it should have been obvious they had quite a bit of money. 

“Do they not like me because I’m human?” My question caught her off guard and her head whipped towards me. “Alice! Watch the road!”

“I won’t crash.” Even as she said it, she turned back and squeezed my hand a little tighter. “They don’t not like you, they’re just cautious. Esme, she’s basically my mom, is ecstatic that I’ve found you and so is Carlisle, that’s who you’d call my dad. They want to meet you. Rosalie and Jasper are just afraid of us being exposed and Edward is mad because he can’t read you. Emmett is happy for us, though. Once they get to know you, they’ll love you.”

“Is that a guarantee?” I tapped her temple with my free hand and she giggled as she nodded.

After she parked, she gave me a quick rundown of each sibling, making sure I knew enough to put the name to a face and so I had an idea of how to act around each of them. 

We were actually early, thanks to Alice’s pushing and speedy driving, so we sat in her car and watched as the other students poured in. 

“I never did ask you.” I tilted my head towards Alice’s voice, her eyes were bright and curious as she looked me over. “Why did you come to Forks? I’m happy you did but I didn’t ask why yesterday.”

“Oh.” That was a can of worms I wasn’t sure I wanted to open just yet. Simple answers were about all I could give. “My mom remarried, he’s nice enough but he’s a baseball player.” Alice tilted her head in question at that statement. “His job isn’t bad but he travels a lot. She wasn’t happy staying with me while he was gone so I decided to come stay with Charlie so she could go.”

“That’s not the end of it, huh?” I nodded slowly at Alice’s question, not wanting to lie but not sure I could spill all the details of my life just yet. “You’ll tell me when you’re ready, I know.” 

I relaxed back into the seat, giving her a grateful smile that she responded to by just taking my hand. She traced the lines on my palm for a moment, fascinated with each new crease or scar she found upon my skin. 

“You have a lot of these. Like Jasper, he’ll tell you about them someday.” Every time she spoke with such certainty, it got so much easier to just believe what she said. “Why do you have so many?”

“I’m clumsy.” That completely perplexed her, she was so graceful and fluid it didn’t surprise me. “I get hurt a lot, and often honestly. Run into things, trip over everything and nothing, cuts and bruises, you name it.”

There was a slight worried panic in her eyes now, one that surprised me, and she shot over until she was sitting on my lap in the passenger seat. I blinked with a slight gasp at the sudden change but Alice just curled into me and bracketed her hands protectively on either side of my head.

“No.” The word was spoken with such a insistent innocence that I locked my eyes onto hers, trying to figure out what she meant. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Oh. Tiny little Alice was trying to protect me from the dangers of the world, including my own inability to not almost die every other day. 

Of course I knew she could protect me, she was small but she was also an insanely strong creature. It was endearing and I wished to wipe that panic from her eyes. I knew that wouldn’t leave as long as she had to protect her human mate, though, not entirely.

“I know you will, but you can’t blame yourself if I fall down, okay? You can’t catch me every single time.” From the furrow in her brow, I knew she took that as a bit of a challenge. “Alice, I’m a clumsy human. It’s a normal thing for me to have some kind of injury but it’ll be ok if I do. You’ll protect me, I know, but you gotta promise me you won’t get mad at yourself if I still get hurt on my own.”

“Fine.” She pouted a little, leaning in to nuzzle into my neck like she’d done this morning. I anticipated a lick but this time, she gently kissed the skin over my pulse. “I’ll try not to get upset if you get a scratch.” Anyone else would have thought she were speaking about a car or something instead of a person but I heard the deep affection overtake her worry.

“What are we calling this?” The tone she had when she spoke to me had me wondering just what we would tell people. At this point, I was up for anything. Going slow was not exactly in the cards when you’re dealing with Alice but I knew she wouldn’t push me either. “I know we’re mates and that we’re figuring that out together, but what do we say when people ask?”

“Well, Bella,” Now Alice looked excited, practically vibrating in my lap with an energy that seemed contagious. “I’d like to call you my girlfriend if you wouldn’t mind, even though the human term seems to sell our bond short.” 

“I think, Alice,” I chuckled as she looked up at me, bright eyes saying she already knew my answer. “That I would like that.”

Alice leaned forward suddenly and kissed me so soundly I didn’t even realize how badly I needed to breathe until the warmth in my chest turned to a pain. She pulled back as I panted to calm my heart down and I noticed that purr coming from her chest once more. The second I wasn’t sucking in air like a drowning man, Alice peppered kisses against my lips, never lingering for more than a second until I glared at her.

“Teasing is not the nicest thing to do before school.” She just laughed at me, finally pressing another full kiss to my lips. This time she teased in a different way, languidly trailing her tongue along my bottom lip in a stripe that left a tingle when she leaned back. “Alice, behave please.”

“I’ll do my best.” Her tone showed how amused she was at my plea, obviously happy with how easily she’d flustered me to this state. My cheeks were flushed hot and I was looking at her through a slight daze. “Come on now, it’s time to get to class.”

With a deep groan, I followed her out of the car. Thankfully, she immediately slid her hand into mine and kept me steady as we walked. Being with Alice Cullen was going to be the death of me, one way or another, and I was so very ready to go along for the ride.

 

Standing just outside the door, a little off to the side from the crowd, were her siblings. They watched us with worried eyes still, flashing between our faces and where our hands were linked together. Only the big guy, who I now knew to match to the name Emmett, seemed to be relaxed at how close we were.

As we got close, I watched them and matched names to looks easily. I could see what Alice meant somewhat, how they didn’t hate me, but their expressions weren’t exactly warm either.

“Don’t you think you’re moving a little fast, Alice?” Edward’s voice cut through our little bubble. I was surprised, mostly since he’d never acknowledged me the previous day, but Alice looked furious. She bristled for a moment and then glanced at me before she suddenly deflated, that nervous fear shining in her eyes.

Her hand flexed in mine, like she were deciding whether or not to let go, and I cursed Edward in my head for stealing her confidence away. I remembered what she’d said earlier, about how they thought she might lose herself and hurt me, and it occurred to me that she was afraid of that somewhere still. Not afraid of hurting me physically, like her siblings were, but of hurting me by going too overboard with just being her. The idea made my heart squeeze painfully in my chest, I wanted all of Alice and it hurt to think of her holding back so much.

I made the decision before she could put any distance between us. Squeezing her hand tighter, I stared directly into Edward’s untrusting worried gaze and tugged Alice so she would move even closer into my side. 

Three things happened all at once. Emmett laughed so hard that the entire student body turned to stare, Alice’s bright expression returned as she cuddled into my side with a little hiss towards her brother, and the icy facade on the rest of the Cullen’s cracked just a little.

Jasper smiled at me and nodded as he tugged Edward, who looked thoroughly chastised even from just a look, towards the building. Rosalie huffed but I caught the tiniest uptick to her lips, that was all the smile I would get from her this quickly. Emmett, still beaming, gave me a thumbs up as he let Rosalie lead him inside. 

“That went well!” Alice’s cheerful chirp had me laughing and she looked at me funny. “It did! I didn’t even have to yell at them.”

“I guess it could have gone way worse.” She grinned at my agreement and slid her arm around my waist. I felt her hand settle into the back pocket of my jeans as that grin turned into a smirk. “Ah, laying claim already are you? We haven’t even gone inside.”

“But you’re mine.” So nonchalant. Alice just shrugged and turned to kiss my cheek before she nuzzled her head into my shoulder. “I’ll back off if you ask me to, and really do tell me if I push past your boundaries because I don’t want you uncomfortable, but until you do I would like to stay as close as possible.”

“Possessive and protective, I get it. I don’t mind it, Alice, but I promise to tell you if you go too far.” I watched as she beamed so wide I thought she might reveal how unnatural her smile could be and her free hand settled on my stomach, effectively hugging me as we walked. “Wait. Is that why you picked only a hoodie? So you could slip your hand under it against my skin?”

Alice didn’t answer verbally but the exaggerated innocent eyes she gave me told me all I needed to know. That little sneak. 

To her credit, Alice didn’t go any further through the day than simply making sure we were either always holding hands or that she was hugging my waist or around one of my arms. It was a bit strange to the school, I suppose, seeing the new girl and someone they’d come to regard as a little reclusive outside of her family suddenly being so touchy and close. We got looks, none that were very judging but definitely some that were a bit incredulous.

Around lunch, however, things ramped up a little. I think having everyone in one space made it a little harder for Alice to focus. In class, we only had so many people around us so she was able to keep her cool. In this room, however, with our entire class mingling, she was on edge.

The second I had my food, Alice dragged me to a free table in the corner next to the windows. She nudged me so I would sit against the wall with her next to me. I ate slowly, keeping an eye on her tense form, taking note of the little changes that happened with each person she decided came too close to me.

Her eyes were now a dark honey instead of that bright gold from this morning. She was sitting like she was ready to pounce at any moment, her entire body taut and I could almost hear her grinding her teeth. After about fifteen minutes, I did hear the low growl that was steadily building from within her.

“Alice.” I said her name calmly, catching her gaze and trying to show I was completely relaxed. “We’re okay, I’m perfectly fine. No one here is going to hurt me, yea?”

“Bella.” Her voice came out rough, melding with that growl and a low whine that lay underneath. I could see the struggle in her eyes as she opened her mouth to say more but couldn’t seem to find the words.

“Hey, it’s ok.” Checking the area around us, I realized the rest of her family were watching us closely. They all had stone faces, obviously waiting to see if they would have to take control of this situation or not. Rosalie looked angry and Edward seemed like he was about ten seconds from coming to drag Alice outside. “Come here, Alice, you know I don’t mind being close to you. People can look all they want, I’m just looking at you.”

I tapped my lap as I sat back from the table, giving her a little welcoming smile. She seemed torn between wanting to curl up with me and wanting to stay on guard duty. The decision was made when I impatiently hummed at her and she moved over to me, a little faster than she should have but still looking human enough.

Alice curled into me easily, tucking her head under my chin so she could hide and breathe me in. As for me, I was just relieved she wasn’t so stressed anymore. I tucked one hand into her hair, rubbing her head and scratching gently until Alice melted into my touch. 

“Better?” I felt her nod into my neck, a little sigh escaping her lips. She squirmed a little, unzipping my hoodie just enough to slide her arms inside to hug around my middle. Her cold skin sent a jolt through me for a moment but soon, I relaxed back into her hold.

“Sorry.” It took five solid minutes of quiet sitting but Alice finally responded, her voice muffled against my skin. “I didn’t see this coming, I didn’t think to prepare myself for this since classes were so easy yesterday and this morning.”

My heart ached a little with how dejected she sounded. I rubbed her back, tilting my head down to press a kiss to her hair. As I did, I caught sight of the others once again, they were less tense now. Emmett and Jasper were smiling, though Jasper’s was quieter than Emmett’s giant grin. Edward still looked a little uneasy but he had obviously relaxed his stance, not quite smiling but watching with curious eyes. Rosalie was the only one I couldn’t read, she still frowned at us but her eyes were sparkling and colored that bright gold I connected to a happier vampire.

“I’m not mad, Alice. You can’t help it and, like we said yesterday, we’ll just figure things out as we go.” That was something she needed to hear, apparently, as the second I finished speaking, she slumped into my arms as the last of the tension drained from her spine. “People were already staring at us anyway, may as well give them something to actually look at.”

A bright giggle bubbled up from her then and I watched her slide back into that easy happy energy I was so used to from her. She sat up straight after a moment, leaning in to settle her forehead against mine in an incredibly gentle affectionate headbutt.

“Thank you.” She leaned in and gave me a tiny kiss as she spoke, getting into a more casual position on my lap but not removing herself from it. “Maybe I’ll just have to spend lunches sitting right here from now on, hm?”

I couldn’t help but laugh as I saw that familiar mischievous sparkle back in her eyes, shrugging my shoulders in a sort of playful surrender to her whims.

Alice saved me from more embarrassment in gym once again, darting around to keep me from being hit in a beginning of the year dodgeball warm up game. Then, when art rolled around, she watched me sketch.

“Are you ever going to draw?” I was amused at how little she cared about working on any projects. Second day and we had to turn in a project worked in our favored medium by the next monday. I had my sketches started but Alice didn’t seem to have anything.

“I usually work at home. Painting can get a little messy with how quickly I work and I really don’t want to get charcoal and pastel all over everything.” She peeked up at me from where she had nuzzled into my arm. “I’ll show you, if you like. You could come over this weekend, actually meet everyone and we could spend some time together at my place.”

“What if they don’t like me?” Though she’d reassured me earlier, I still had a nagging anxiety in my gut. 

“You’re not afraid of being in a house full of vampires, you’re worried about them not liking you?” Alice was amused and something akin to wonder sparkled in her eyes. “You really are one of a kind.”

So the week went by. I agreed to go to Alice’s after school Friday to meet everyone and Charlie believed I was simply having a slumber party with my new friends. He liked the Cullen family and since he knew some of what living in Arizona had been like for me, he was eager to agree to letting me spend time with people I actually liked being around and who liked me in return. 

Alice and I fell into a fairly easy rhythm. She tended to pick me up in the morning and through the day, we would talk about anything. We touched mostly on small things, not wanting to have anyone hear anything strange and start whispering in the halls, but it was nice to find out new things about each other. Then after school, she would either drop me off and disappear until the morning, to hunt or spend time with her family, or she would stay with me the entire night. 

Friday morning, I was alone. She spent the evening away to prepare her family more, as she put it. I think she just wanted to make sure everyone behaved while I was over. 

Still, waking up alone on the morning I would be meeting my vampire girlfriends vampire family was a little overwhelming. I didn’t have Alice to distract me from my anxiety. 

I got ready in a bit of a haze, packing my overnight bag and dressing warm without much thought. Alice had reassured me, she’s prepped me, but I was still so worried I would do something to mess this up. Or worse, to make them straight up hate me. Or an even worse scenario, injure myself and inconvenience everyone.

I may be overthinking it but that didn’t stop the roar of my heart thundering in my ears. 

The sudden honk from Alice’s car waiting out front snapped me out of it and I made my way slowly outside. I caught her worried gaze through her window as I neared the car, slipping on a patch of wet sidewalk in my distraction. She was fast, zipping out of the can to in front of me in half a second to catch me from hitting the ground.

“Are you okay?” Alice’s eyes were wide, wildly looking me over to make sure I hadn’t injured myself. Her touch soothed some of my worry and I nodded sheepishly as she helped me stand once again.

“Yea, sorry, just a little out of it this morning.” It was more than that and Alice could see it but my poor sweet vampire didn’t seem able to figure out what exactly was wrong. Her brow furrowed as she studied me, keeping her hand in mine through the entire drive to school.

The Cullens were strangely absent, the only sibling attending was Alice and she chuckled when I asked about it.

“I made them spend the day hunting to be extra careful. They told me it would be fine, they spend all day in school anyway, but since they had so little faith in me the first days I met you, I’m going to throw it right back at them.” She smirked but I could see behind it that she was also doing it to soothe that overprotective drive.

By the time art rolled around, my nerves had turned into an acid bubbling in my stomach. The second we got to our table, I slumped into my chair and lay my head against it. Alice’s cold hand moved to the back of my neck and I arched thankfully into the soothing touch.

“Are you still afraid they won’t like you? Is that why you’ve been so spacey today?” It seemed she’d reached her frustration limit. Alice wasn’t the best at reading human emotion and, even if she had all the information, she tended to need a full explanation so she wasn’t confused. Her brain just liked to zip between easier emotions and reactions so she got a little lost sometimes with lingering issues.

“A little.” I turned my head to look at her, the cool wood and her cold hand on my neck doing wonders to calm me. I’d gotten so used to her temperature this past week. “I’m not sure why it hit me so bad this morning but I just don’t know what to expect.”

Alice tilted her head down and rubbed her cheek against mine, lingering a moment with a soft purr.

“You’ll be fine. They’re going to love you so much I might just steal you away so you stay only mine.” She had that little playful growl in her voice and I couldn’t help the giggle that it provoked, Alice’s eyes lighting up at the sound as she moved to look down at me with a grin. “Let’s skip free period. No one will care, it’s Friday, and that way we can spend some time alone before we go.”

That matter of fact tone was back in her voice leading me to agree before I even really thought about it.

Alone time turned out to be Alice taking me home to get some food while she rambled on about her family, trying to prepare me and soothe me all at the same time. All too soon, Alice was dragging me back out to her car, grinning at me so widely those little splits were vibrant against her skin.

The ride was silent and I watched her the whole way, trying to match her relaxed posture as much as possible. I was incredibly aware of the pounding of my heart as we pulled up to the house. 

“They’re all home.” She looked at me and gave my hand a squeeze before she ran around to pull me out of the car. “I told Esme not to cook but don’t be surprised if she’s made you a snack. Or a dessert. She likes to cook but she doesn’t really get to do it.”

“Yea, okay.” My distracted reply barely came out as I looked around the entryway, taking in the wide open space. The windows kept the space full of natural light but lamps and candles kept any shadows away. “It’s so bright.”

“We don’t have to hide at home so it’s nice to just keep everything relaxed.” Alice bounced on her toes as she waited for me to finish my look around. “Come on. We should see Esme and Carlisle first, they’ll be in the kitchen.”

The moment we neared the room, I noticed the smell of warm cookies and the soft tones of a quiet hum coming from the woman I realized was Esme. She was dancing around the space, cleaning up baking supplies and humming that tune as Carlisle watched her from where he sat at the island. They seemed so normal, so happy and soft that it eased some of my anxiety.

“Oh!” Esme caught sight of us a second later, immediately beaming in a way that reminded me of the joy that radiates from Alice as she came over to pull me into a gentle hug. “Hello, Bella, I’m incredibly pleased you’ve finally come to visit us.”

According to Alice, Esme had been just as eager and impatient to meet me, asking her every day since we met when I would find time to meet the family.

“Uh hi.” I didn’t really know what to say. Her eyes were warm, she was obviously turned still fairly young but with such a mother hen aura about her that it wasn’t surprising that the others saw her as such. “It’s nice to be here, I love the house.”

She just seemed to roll with my awkward small talk, dragging me over to meet Carlisle despite the slight growl that came from Alice at her continued touch.

“Hello there, Bella.” Carlisle’s voice was deeper than either of theirs but still held that light tone, his eyes shining with an air of relaxed confidence. Though he looked just as young as the rest, it didn’t surprise me that he was their leader, their guide. “You’re welcome here any time. I’m sure you’ll fit in wonderfully.”

By the time he finished speaking, I heard those growls from Alice vary in volume. It was obvious she was struggling with how touchy her family was with me since she liked that they immediately welcomed me but her instincts were screaming to hide me away. I gave Esme another soft hug and then decided to ease her battle, moving back to her side to kiss her cheek.

“I’m here.” My voice seemed to do the trick, her shoulders slumping while she leaned into my side. “It’s difficult for you, I know, but you gotta get used to at least your family being close to me.”

“I know.” Her voice was rough but determined as she smiled up at me, hugging me around the middle tightly for a moment. I looked up to see Esme looking at us with cloudy eyes, her grin even brighter, and Carlisle just watching with a soft smile. She was squeezing his shoulders, obviously thrilled that I was so comfortable with Alice, and he reached up to take her hand in his. He apparently agreed.

Their immediate approval made my heart soar and erased the anxiety still lingering in my bones. I’d already started to crack the ice around the siblings, having the parental figures on my side was all I needed to boost my confidence at continuing to do so.

“The others are spending the evening relaxing. I believe Rosalie and Emmett are out in the garage. Jasper and Edward were working on a new piece in the music room about an hour ago, I’m sure they’re still there.” Esme’s voice was warm, soothing as her initial excitement melted into a sort of content. “If you both want to go find them before you’re off to do your own thing, I can bring you snacks in a while, Bella. If you need anything while you’re here, please don’t hesitate to ask. You’re with Alice now which means you’re a part of this family.”

“Oh, thank you, Esme.” I smiled at her even as my voice wavered, feeling a little awkward at her motherly insistence. I’d never really had that with Renee and here Esme was, a woman who seemed not much older than those she claimed as her children, giving me such easy comfort. It would take a little to get used to.

Alice seemed to sense my sudden slight distress as she dragged me out of the kitchen with a soft thank you. We made it halfway to the garage, just out of sight of anyone, when she pushed me against the wall. She positioned herself to bracket me on either side with her arms, providing a stable hold to keep my up while also a blatant protective circle.

“What’s wrong?” Her eyes kept scanning my face before wildly flickering towards the kitchen and then back. It occurred to me that this was another time where Alice was lost as to what I was feeling, trying to find a physical problem that may have done it.

“I’m ok.” The shake to my words was worse now and it made her press even closer, rubbing her cheek against my neck while purring in a broken cadence to try to help me. “Alice, I promise I’m fine. Esme’s excitement to see me and how she seems so ready to mother me just stunned me a little. I know you warned me but I still wasn’t expecting it, I’m not used to having this. Honestly, I’m still getting used to the things that Charlie does for me and having someone who is basically a stranger want to take care of me like this is just a little jarring.”

A little sad whine seemed to build in Alice’s throat as she realized what I was telling her. I hadn’t explained much about what living with Renee was like but I’d told her that I had to basically become a sort of mini adult by the time I was six. 

“I told you I can’t remember my human life so I think I can relate a little bit to that. The first time I had a vision of Esme treating me like a daughter, I sat in a tree for hours just trying to figure out what my heart was feeling.” She pulled back just enough to tug my head down a little to give me one of her gentle affectionate headbutts. “I’m glad you explain things to me. I know I’m not good at wandering human feelings, even though I suppose I still have the same emotions, they just affect me differently. These things are hard for you to get through and you have another layer of difficulty having to lay it out for me but I’m thankful you do. I want to be able to help you, protect you, anyway I can.”

We kept there a moment, just breathing and calming down, before she leaned back and gave me one of those giant grins. She took my hand and led me to the garage, my heart sticking in my throat once more as I realized we would be meeting Rosalie and Emmett first.

“Finally!” The second we made it past the door, Emmett was up and running to us. He didn’t waste any time before he scooped me up into a hug and then did the same to Alice, spinning her until her initial growl of surprised turned into a loud peal of laughter. “I thought we’d never get to meet this new girl of yours, tiny.”

Emmett set her down and then turned to me, grinning so wide I saw the little cracks at the corners of his mouth as I did when Alice smiled so big. He bounced on his toes a little then turned to go back to where he had been sitting on top of the jeep.

“Uh hi, Emmett.” I was a little stunned but also warmed by his enthusiasm. He seemed to be happy for Alice and that just made me like him even more. “I’m happy to meet you, too.” I turned to the blonde head finally coming out from under the jeep, her face a cool mask of indifference as she sized me up. “You too, Rosalie. It’s nice to see you guys out of school.”

It was awkward, my words stumbling, but Alice was practically vibrating in joy at how relaxed everything was so far.

“Bella.” Rosalie just said my name and nodded, giving me a sort of greeting mixed with a dismissal as she wiped her hands while looking through her tools. It was better than anything I’d gotten all week and I was happy to leave it there, tugging on Alice’s hand.

“Okay!” She was chipper as ever, beaming at Rosalie and giving Emmett a little wave as we left. “That went great! I’d seen three possible outcomes for Rosalie’s greeting and that was the best one! Emmett wasn’t a worry, he was ready to adopt you into the family the moment I told him I’d found my mate.”

I just watched her talk with unabashed affection, taking in her flailing hands and vibrant eyes. She stopped talking when she caught my staring, turning suddenly shy as she bumped her shoulder into mine. I slid my arm around her shoulders, pulling her tightly into my side as we neared the door that had the soft tones of a piano coming from behind it.

“Come in, Alice. I know you’re there.” Jasper’s voice floated out from the room and Alice brightened. I knew of their past, how they’d found each other and helped one another until they met up with the Cullens, and I was grateful to him.

“Hello.” I spoke as we entered, the sight of Jasper leaning against Edward’s piano bench as he read while Edward worked on his piece greeting us. 

“Hey, Bella.” Jasper smiled but it was wavering, a slightly pained look in his eyes registering as I remembered. He was newer to this life, the addition of his empath powers giving him an eve harder time being around humans. Even so, he was entirely more relaxed compared to school and I was glad to see I wouldn’t be causing too much of a problem. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll get used to having you around.”

Of course, he’d felt my rush of emotions. I gave him a smile, nodding a little sheepishly. I didn’t like hurting him in this way and he didn’t want me avoiding the house. We’d figure it out as we went alone I supposed, just as I was doing with all of the Cullen family.

“Hello.” Edward’s voice had me turning to look at him, his face still looking torn between being happy for Alice and fearing for her. “Welcome.”

“Edward, stop that.” Alice stomped her foot, glaring at him for a moment before he just chuckled and put his hands up in surrender.

“I’m sorry, Alice. She just throws me off is all.” He turned back to me and then approached, holding his hand out for me to take. When I did, he bowed his head and kissed my knuckles, garnering a growl filled huff from Alice. “I apologize for my behavior. You confuse me.”

He gave both of us a wink before returning to his piano. The notes he played seemed to break Alice out of her tiff, her eyes twinkling as she danced in a little circle for a moment. I watched her, stunned as she performed a tiny ballet before she leaned back against my side. 

“That’s my favorite and you used it against me.” It was an accusation but she said it in a voice filled with such happiness it held no sting. 

“I know.” He didn’t say anymore as he waved his hand to shoo us from the room, Jasper just giving us a little wave goodbye as well.

“Edward is just mad because he can’t read your thoughts.” Ah, right, another thing she’d sort of thrown at me without much explanation. The gifts they had were something she glazed over a little, wanting to explain personalities I could expect and then moving on to us talking about one another. “We’re not sure why, it might just be a quirk, but you worry him more than other humans because he can’t read you easily.”

“Oh.” She stopped outside a door and I realized we’d gone upstairs while she explained, my wandering mind not focusing enough to notice. “So my brain is weird.”

“The weirdest!” Her voice was a little chirp and I glared playfully at her. “I like it that way, your brain is perfect the way it is. Now this is my room, do you want to see it?”

“Yes, Alice, I would love to.” I stuck my tongue out at her as she’d done to me many times and let her lead me inside.

The space was filled with natural light, the outside wall made into one big window and a glass door to a small balcony. Her ceiling held a web of fairy lights while shelves that lined one wall held books and other trinkets. A large bed took up a good chunk of the space facing a tv hanging above a table full of sketch books and sewing supplies.

“It’s a mess, I’ve fallen into a redecorating mood, but I hope you like it.” Alice was nervous, watching as I took in the space. It was just so her that my heart warmed.

“I love it, Alice.” She beamed at my response and pulled me to the bed, pushing me so I was settled comfortably against the pillows. Then she curled up with me, nuzzling into my neck with a soft sigh. She was relaxing fully now, letting go of all the involuntary stress she’d been feeling since we arrived. 

I ran my fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp as she all but melted against me. This tiny creature had so easily and so completely enraptured me in this past week and my heart felt nearly painful with how much I felt for her.

“So whats the plan?” I kissed her head as I asked, grinning as she squirmed happily at the gesture.

“Tonight will just be to relax but tomorrow, tomorrow I have plans for you.” She tilted her head back to squint up at me, that mischievous grin shining. “Don’t worry, though, you’ll have fun.

“Oh, Alice, I never worry about that when I’m with you.”

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!
> 
> if you have any suggestions, ideas, or prompts, please comment here or message me on my tumblr lycanbella


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